Hopscotch is a simple children's
game which can be played with several players or alone.
Hopscotch is often played in playgrounds by
children.

Historic version of hopscotch rules

The first player tosses
the marker (typically a stone, coin or bean bag) into the first
square. The marker must land completely within the designated
square and without touching a line or bouncing out. The player then
hops through the course, skipping the square with the marker in it.
Single squares must be hopped on one foot. For the first single
square, either foot may be used. Side by side squares are
straddled, with the left foot landing in the left square, and the
right foot landing in the right square. Optional squares marked
"Safe", "Home", or "Rest" are neutral squares, and may be hopped
through in any manner without penalty.

Upon successfully completing the sequence, the
player continues the turn by tossing the marker into square number
two, and repeating the pattern.

If while hopping through the court in either
direction the player steps on a line, misses a square, or loses
balance, the turn ends. Players begin their turns where they last
left off. The first player to complete one course for every
numbered square on the court wins the game.

Current version of hopscotch

Rules for a common Western
version of "hopscotch", which are not the same as the historic
"hopscotch": The first player tosses the marker (typically a stone,
coin or bean bag) into the first square. The marker must land
completely within the designated square and without touching a line
or bouncing out. If the marker lands in the wrong square, the
player forfeits a turn. If the marker is successful, the player
hops through the court skipping the square with the stone in it.
Single squares must be hopped on one foot. For the first single
square, either foot may be used. Side by side squares are
straddled, with the left foot landing in the left square, and the
right foot landing in the right square. Optional squares marked
"Safe", "Home", or "Rest" are neutral squares, and may be hopped
through in any manner without penalty.

When players reach the end of the court, they
turn around and hop back through the court, moving through the
squares in reverse order and stopping to pick up the marker on the
way back (and hops in the square). Upon successfully completing the
sequence, the player continues the turn by tossing the marker into
square number two, and repeating the pattern.

If while hopping through the court in either
direction the player steps on a line, misses a square, or loses
balance, the turn ends. Players begin their turns where they last
left off. The first player to complete one course for every
numbered square on the court wins the game.

The placement of squares need not be straight.
The squares can wind across the ground in single squares (the
player landing on one foot), paired squares (the player landing on
two feet) or mismatched paired squares (the player landing on one
foot, then the other). The player may have to do actions on squares
like spin in place, hop several times in place before moving on,
etc. Elaborate hop scotch courses may have branches that split from
the main course and join again further along.

Origin

Hopscotch originated in Britain
during the early Roman
Empire. It was initially designed as a training regimen for
Roman foot soldiers who
ran the course in full armor and field packs, as it was
thought this would improve their footwork. Roman children imitated
the soldiers by drawing their own boards and creating a scoring
system, and "Hopscotch" spread throughout Europe.

Etymology

The word "hopscotch" is a compound of "hop" and
"scotch", meaning "scratched line". It dates back to at least
1801.

In Czech (and probably in other Slavonic
languages), both "hop" and "scotch" are rather childish expressions
for "make a jump". But the game itself is called panák in
Czech.

Variants

There are many other forms of hopscotch played
across the globe. In Russia and Russian--speaking
countries it is known as классики (diminutive for the word
meaning classrooms).
In Poland, it is called 'klasy', meaning classes'. 'In Malaysia the most
popular variant is called tengteng.

Escargot

A French variant of hopscotch is known as
Escargot'' (snail) or "La Marelle Ronde" (round hopscotch). It is
played on a spiral course. Players must hop on one foot to the
center of the spiral and back out again. A player marks one square
with his or her initials, and from then on may place two feet in
that square, while all other players must hop over it. The game
ends when all squares are marked or no one can reach the center,
and the winner is the player who "owns" the most squares.

Chikki-Billa

In India, hopscotch is also called
chikki-billa, chikki meaning the chalk borders and billa meaning
the marker. It has similar principles in that players must hop on
one foot and must throw the marker in the right square.